Ansar, 9 years old

Ansar lives with his parents, three brothers, and two sisters near the Landhi train station in Karachi. His father makes and sells samosas on the street and Ansar often helps him.

Because of financial challenges, Ansar had to leave school. He spends his days at home or playing around the neighborhood with his siblings and friends.

One afternoon, while he was at the train station, a man approached him in a friendly way and persuaded him to board a train. The man took him all the way to Lahore. What happened next is not entirely clear—Ansar says that he managed to escape. He wandered the streets of Lahore alone until the authorities found him and took him to a local shelter.

During their search, Roshni Helpline eventually located Ansar and reunited him with his family.

Since his return, Ansar has spoken very little about what happened while he was away. He continues to spend a lot of time at the very train station he was abducted at. He is a happy child, but now often plays with his toy gun and talks about protecting his younger siblings from “bad guys.”

He wishes to go back to school and continue his education.